Then-South African President Nelson Mandela (left) accepts the voluminous final report of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission from panel chairman Archbishop Desmond Tutu in 1998. The panel has become the gold standard of truth commissions for its ability to avoid violence and reunite South Africans after the fall of the apartheid regime. (AFP/Getty Images/Walter Dhladhla)

After war and unspeakable violence, countries around the world face the challenge of moving forward while dealing with the past. But what should justice look like? From Bosnia to Burundi, from Argentina to Timor-Leste, millions of people around the world have been brutalized by genocide, torture, kidnappings and disappearances of loved ones — often at the hands of their own governments and countrymen. Today countries have a variety of legal options, known as transitional justice, including truth commissions — official panels that investigate atrocities and create authoritative records of past abuses. Truth-telling can foster social healing and reconciliation, supporters say, but early research suggests that results have been mixed. Other countries seek justice through international trials or tribunals. In the end, justice — however it is sought — seeks to expose the truth, protect human rights and pave a path to democracy.